Herd
Get App
Word Bomb podcast cover art

Word Bomb

ByTVO
41 episodes

Podcast Summary

Welcome to Word Bomb, the podcast that explodes the meaning of language one powerful word at a time. Hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta take listeners on an insightful journey through the complexities of language, revealing the rich narratives that often go untold. Each week, they dive deep into a single word, inviting experts and thought leaders to share their unique perspectives and personal anecdotes. With guests like bestselling author Neil Gaiman discussing the evolution of storytelling, and linguist Gretchen McCulloch exploring the nuances of internet language, Word Bomb uncovers how words shape our thoughts, cultures, and connections. Whether delving into the emotional heft of "home" or the vibrant layers of "identity," this podcast invites you to rethink the words you use every day. Join Pippa and Karina as they ignite your curiosity and transform your understanding of language in a way that’s both enlightening and entertaining.

#1

Coming Soon: Word Bomb, a TVO Podcast

Welcome to Word Bomb, the podcast that helps us understand our words in a whole new way. Subscribe now for episodes that begin in October 2018.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018-09-23•1mins
#2

Ep. 1 - 'Fat': Go ahead, say the F-word

In our very first episode of Word Bomb, hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta discuss the word "fat," bias, and the "euphemism treadmill."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018-10-02•28mins
#3

Ep. 2 - 'Doxx': Hacking the language of the internet

What does it mean to "doxx somebody?" Word Bomb hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta delve deep into the dark history of an ever-evolving culture of online discourse.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018-10-02•33mins
#4

Ep. 3 - 'Like': Tackling a like/hate relationship

What does it mean when we pepper everything we say with "like"? Word Bomb hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta take a good, hard listen to their own speech patterns and reveal some surprising stats.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018-10-02•12mins
#5

Ep. 4 - 'Trigger': The word behind the warning

TW: everything. This week, Pippa and Karina tackle the word "trigger", interviewing a PhD student, a mental health advocate and a filmmaker. Safe spaces, content warnings and "snowflakes" all feature in this exploration of the words we use when we talk about trauma.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018-10-09•26mins
#6

Ep. 5 - 'Moist': The ick factor and damp semantics

Why are people so hung up on the word "moist"? Pippa and Karina wade into the damp, the humid and the slightly wet as they dismantle English's most hated word (and repeat it enough to cure themselves of word aversion).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018-10-16•11mins
#7

Ep. 6 - 'Singular They': Busting open the binary

Pippa and Karina journey from the fifteenth century to the present day, tracing the course of a small word with an outsized impact. As singular "they" gains ground as the gender-neutral pronoun of choice for nonbinary folks, are publications and the public following suit?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018-10-23•25mins
#8

Ep. 7 - 'Partner': The best name for your better half?

Girlfriend, boyfriend, S.O., bae, better half, sweetheart, beau ... what's in a name? Pippa and Karina debate and dismantle all the names you may choose to call that special someone and discuss the social utility of the word partner - and its important LGBTQ backstory.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018-10-30•12mins

Listen to your favourite podcasts.

Now ad-free.

Download herd and enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality podcasts without the wait.

Download on the
App Store
#9

Ep. 8 - 'Renoviction': Portmanteau as protest

What happens when landlords evict tenants to renovate their units and triple the rents? Bitter disputes, drawn-out court battles, fierce housing activism - and a brand-new portmanteau that's catching on so fast, it seems poised for dictionary status. Pippa and Karina discuss the phenomenon of "renoviction" in Canada and interview the word's creator.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018-11-06•25mins
#10

Ep. 9 - 'Native': O Canada, don't label, just listen

In this episode, Karina and Pippa consider the word Native, using it to explore Canada's painful colonial past and present. They discuss the labels applied to Indigenous peoples and sit down with two Indigenous artists to talk self-identification, word choice, and the power of capitalization.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2018-11-13•32mins
#11

Word Bomb is back for Season 2!

Listen to hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta in season 2 of Word Bomb. Subscribe now!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2019-09-26•0mins
#12

Ep. 1 - 'Polyamory': Opening up the vocab of non-monogamy

Polyamory in North America is on the rise-and with it comes a plethora of brand-new words to describe how non-monogamous relationships work, like "polycule" and "compersion". Karina and Pippa talk to a polyamorous reporter and a family lawyer about this linguistic wellspring and the stumbling blocks that poly families face in Canada.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2019-10-01•26mins
#13

Ep. 2 - 'Addict': On drug use and language usage

With an opioid epidemic sweeping North America, there has never been a more urgent time to question how we talk about people who use drugs. Pippa and Karina dive into diagnostic manuals to track the history of how doctors have written about addiction, and talk to a methadone user and a self-professed addict on how labels can both help and hurt.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2019-10-08•25mins
#14

Ep. 3 - 'Crazy': How to De-craze Our Conversations

Dude, that's craaazy. In this mini episode, Pippa and Karina discuss one of the most-used adjectives in their vocabulary, what they mean when they use the word "crazy," and the subtle ways that ableist language can creep into casual conversation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2019-10-15•16mins
#15

Ep. 4 - 'Anthropocene': Naming the climate crisis

As the Earth responds ever more rapidly to human activity, a controversial group of scientists is proposing that we've entered a new epoch: the age of the Anthropocene. Pippa and Karina sit down with earth scientists and a documentary filmmaker to talk about how the crisis is packaged and why word choice is so important to the future of the climate.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2019-10-22•28mins
#16

Ep. 5 - 'Meme': Weird episode, but OK

LOLcats and starter packs. Evil Kermit and Pepe the Frog. One does not simply record a podcast episode on memes, but they can't stop all of us, let alone 30-50 feral hogs. In this mini-episode, Pippa and Karina talk memes past, present, and future to expand your brain. You love to see it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2019-10-29•13mins
#17

Ep. 6 - 'Troll': From the internet to IRL

Being a butt on the internet just isn't what it used to be. From the early '90s to the age of Trump and troll farms, there's a lot to unpack about what we mean when we call someone a troll. Pippa and Karina talk trolling online and in real life with an information and media studies scholar and a vigilante Toronto blogger.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2019-11-05•26mins
#18

Ep. 7 - 'Drag': From drag balls to RuPaul

Serving realness, throwing shade, reading - RuPaul's Drag Race put drag slang on the map, for better and for worse. Pippa and Karina talk to a drag performer and an anthropology scholar about the aftershocks of appropriated language and the real definitions behind the lingo that's exploded into common usage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2019-11-12•26mins
#19

Ep. 8 - 'White': The Great YT North

Are Canadians too polite to talk about race? When it comes to whiteness in Canada, it's a conversation worth having. Pippa and Karina explore the surprising origins of the words "white" and "Caucasian," talk about what it really means to be white in Canada past and present, and speak to the woman behind Toronto's first white privilege conference.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2019-11-19•33mins
#20

Ep. 9 - 'Toronto': Live at Hot Docs

Tkaronto, York, Toronto the Good, T-Dot, Hogtown, the 6ix... Canada's largest city has gone by many names over the years and Pippa and Karina explore the myths and origin stories behind all of them. This season finale was recorded at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto in front of a live audience as part of the annual Hot Docs Podcast Festival.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2019-11-26•11mins
#21

Season three is coming soon

In 2020, language has been moving faster than ever, and Word Bomb is here to help. Hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta return for a third season to unpack one explosive word per week, talk to experts and dive deep into lived experiences to share stories the dictionary doesn't tell you. This season, look out for conversations on the US election, cancel culture, the Black Lives Matter movement, Silicon Valley, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020-09-29•0mins
#22

Latinx: Solving for x in a binary world

In this episode of Word Bomb, Pippa and Karina examine the myriad of modern ways to self-identify as Latin American. Joined by a Chicanx psycholinguist and a Venezuelanx performer, they dig into divisive debates and far-reaching colonial history to see why the gender-neutral term “Latinx”—and its many variations—is on the rise. You can follow Megan’s academic and activist work on her website and follow her on Twitter @megandfigueroa. NB: She’s compiled a great database of marginalized scholars in the field of linguistics/language. Augusto is a Venezuelan-born, Dora Award-winning performer, writer, and educator based in Toronto. Check out his website and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @augustobitter. For further reading, we recommend checking out David Bowles’ excellent and informative blog post on the history of “Latinx”; he has a book on the topic forthcoming from Oxford University Press in 2021. Also consider picking up Ed Morales’ book Latinx: The New Force in American Politics and Culture. Thanks for listening!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020-10-06•26mins
#23

Hustle: The millennials aren't alright

Millennials are often called the "hustle generation." They're famous for side gigging, bootstrapping, and burning out. But what really is hustling, and where did it come from? This week on Word Bomb, Pippa and Karina meet hustle culture at the source, investigating the way we talk about work-all the way from its Jim Crow-era roots to 1950s workaholism, 90s rap to Silicon Valley startups. There are so many articles on the phenomenon of millennial hustle culture, but you might want to start with Anne Helen Petersen's "How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation"( and Erin Griffith's ,Why Are Young People Pretending to Love Work?, ( more reading on the Black roots of the word "hustle" and how the word has been co-opted by startup culture, we recommend checking out this great 2020 article ( Isabella Rosario of NPR's Code Switch, as well as Lester Spence's book Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics.Credit for "Everyday Struggle": The Notorious B.I.G./Sony Music Entertainment/youtube.comCredit for "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)": JAY-Z/Universal Music Group/youtube.comCredit for "U Don't Know": JAY-Z/Universal Music Group/spotify.comCredit for "Hustlin'": Rick Ross/Universal Music Group/youtube.comThanks for listening!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020-10-13•22mins

Listen to your favourite podcasts.

Now ad-free.

Download herd and enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality podcasts without the wait.

Download on the
App Store
#24

Nice: A journey into the friendzone

Pippa and Karina follow this surface-level word straight into one of the darkest corners of the internet: the manosphere, complete with Nice Guys, good boys, incels, and MRAs. How did one boring, overused adjective become the ultimate red flag? "Nice" is so much more than the sum of its parts.Thank you to our guest Shelby Lorman, the artist behind the Instagram account @awardsforgoodboys and the book of the same name.Credit for Not Ready to Make Nice: Emily Robinson, Natalie Maines, Martha Maguire, and Dan Wilson/Sony/youtube.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020-10-20•27mins
#25

Republican: Grand Old Party in the U.S.A.

Pippa and Karina take a quick break from doomscrolling to ring in the U.S. presidential election with an episode on the word "Republican." From res publica to revolution, from the party of Lincoln to the party of Trump, identifying as Republican has gone through some major sea change over the centuries-and the word has never been more loaded than in 2020. As the United States stands on the brink of a historic vote, is the GOP what it used to be?Thank you to Rob Vipond of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy for his interview!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020-10-28•20mins
#26

Karen: Calling cops and naming names

Pippa and Karina talk to an entire chorus of Karens and break down the memeification of this now-infamous first name, from the baby boom to Black Lives Matter. Women weaponizing their whiteness have never been so easily called out-but how did one of the most popular baby names of the mid-century come to represent the biggest villain of 2020?Thank you to all Karens who we spoke to this episode: Karyn Guenther, Karin Freeman, Karen Burgess, Karen Stowe-Spektor, Karen Williams, Karen Gray, and Karen K Ho.For further reading, we recommend checking out the NYT article "How White Women Use Themselves as Instruments of Terror" by Charles M. Blow; the book They Were Her Property by Stephanie Jones-Rogers; and the SNL "Baby Shower" skit for good measure.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020-11-03•25mins
#27

Cancel: Dispatches from the culture wars

2020 is definitely , but who can cancel who, and where does boycotting end and cancelling start? Pippa and Karina data-mine Twitter, sort through the endless op-eds, and debate the catharsis and consequences of call-out culture. Online and IRL, cashing in on the thriving "attention economy" has never been so easy-or so fraught.For some extra reading, we recommend checking out the article "Everyone Is Canceled" by NYT writer Jonah Engel Bromwich, as well as "Why we can't stop fighting about cancel culture" by Vox writer Aja Romano.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020-11-10•25mins
#28

Organic: Farm to label

Karina and Pippa take a trip down the grocery aisle to peel back the "organic" label. The organic food industry is booming-but is it all marketing and markup at Whole Foods, or the future of sustainable farming? A tightly regulated industry, or ripe for fraud? Is an apple really just an apple? Along the way, they speak to one of Canada's foremost food trend analysts and sink their teeth into both the assumptions and the facts behind this agricultural movement.Thank you to Dana McCauley of New Venture Creation for the interview, and special thanks to Joel Aitken of Ecocert Canada for his invaluable background on the path to organic certification in Canada.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020-11-17•23mins
#29

Expat: A passport to privilege

Why are some people living abroad called "expats" and others called "immigrants" or "migrants"? Is it simply semantics, or something much deeper? In this episode, Pippa and Karina decode the politics, power dynamics, and privilege behind these loaded terms, and unpack the baggage carried by travelers to and from the global north and south. They're joined by Dr. Anu Taranath, a racial equity consultant and author of the book "Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020-11-24•27mins
#30

Sex: The words and the bees

Now that we've got your attention: Pippa and Karina investigate how sex drives slang creation in the English language. With Jonathon Green, one of the world's leading lexicographers and author of Green's Dictionary of Slang, they take a trip through steamy slang and anatomical idioms from the 1500s all the way to the present day. They also break down the all-important distinction between the words "sex" and "gender."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020-12-01•27mins
#31

BIPOC: Can a term be too inclusive?

The acronym BIPOC has been around for years-but in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and BLM protests across North America this summer, it's been thrust into the spotlight. Is this hot-button term inclusive or homogenizing? Does it signal solidarity or perpetuate erasure? Pippa and Karina break down BIPOC from a uniquely Canadian perspective with help from Paige Galette, a queer Black artist and organizer from Ontario, as well as France Trépanier, an artist and curator of Kanien’kehà:ka and French ancestry and the co-director of the initiative Primary Colours/Couleurs primaires.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020-12-08•24mins
#32

Word Bomb is back for season four!

Word Bomb is back with nine episodes that tell the story behind hot-button words like genocide, homeless, and deaf. Season four drops October 14th. Let’s continue to explore language together! Please support the Word Bomb podcast by donating today at www.tvo.org/supportpods. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021-10-07•0mins
#33

We need to talk about genocide

The discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves near residential schools across the country has re-launched a national conversation on the word "genocide" and why politicians tread lightly around it. In this episode, Pippa and Karina talk to award-winning novelist, lawyer, and activist Michelle Good (Five Little Indians) about the legal definition of genocide and the power behind the word. This episode deals with topics that may cause trauma invoked by memories of past abuse. If you’re a former residential school student, you can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-Hour National Indian Residential School Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. Did you live near a residential school? This interactive map from the CBC will let you find out. Just plug in a year and your address, and you’ll see the closest residential school and its years of operation. We also recommend another interactive map, Native-Land.ca, which allows settlers to educate themselves on whose territorial land they are living on. Huge thanks to our guest Michelle Good, whose Governor General–winning novel Five Little Indians is available at bookstores everywhere.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021-10-14•30mins
#34

We're simps for semantics

Pippa and Karina embark on a totally hard-hitting investigation into the past, present, and future of the word "simp," from 1970s hip-hop to 1990s rap to Tiktok. With its overtones of misogyny, toxic masculinity, and homophobia, this of-the-moment insult takes them back into the territory of Nice Guys and the "manosphere." Where did simping get its start? And might there be a chance for a rare redemption arc?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021-10-21•16mins
#35

Homing in on houselessness

Amid an affordable housing crisis, the language around homelessness is changing - but is it helping? With insights from housing activist Lorraine Lam and Toronto Drop-in Network coordinator Diana Chan McNally, Pippa and Karina track the rise of alternatives such as "unhoused," and break down the spectrum of homelessness and housing precarity. Thank you to our guests Diana Chan McNally, a training and engagement coordinator at the Toronto Drop-In Network, and Lorraine Lam, who is a housing activist and outreach worker at Sanctuary TO. If you’re interested in the Canadian-specific definition of homelessness, the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness has broken it down into four main typologies: unsheltered, emergency sheltered, provisionally accommodated, and at risk. They also have a separate definition for Indigenous homelessness in Canada.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021-10-28•21mins
#36

Defining the mission of abolition

The abolition movement has hit the mainstream, and calls to disarm, defund, and dismantle the system as we know it have never been louder. Rinaldo Walcott, author of "On Property," joins Pippa and Karina to imagine a world without police or prisons, discuss the problem of property, and decode the language of reform.Rinaldo Walcott is the director of the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto and the author of "On Property" (Biblioasis, 2021).If you're interested in reading more on the topic of abolition, Rinaldo's recommended booklist includes, "We Do This 'til We Free Us," by Mariame Kaba; Golden Gulag by Ruth Wilson Gilmore; and "Are Prisons Obsolete?" by Angela Davis.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021-11-04•23mins
#37

Don't you know that you're toxic?

From relationships, to workplaces, to masculinity, "toxic" is a label we've embraced enthusiastically for the last few years. Pippa and Karina trace this overused metaphor from a 1980s fringe men's movement all the way to the Britney song we know and love.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021-11-11•14mins
#38

Sorry, we're at capacity

When and how do we decide that someone can't make their own decisions? As the "grey wave" of aging baby boomers approaches, ,capacity, has become an all-important metric. Pippa and Karina speak to Laura Tamblyn Watts, the CEO of seniors' advocacy organization CanAge, to break down mental capacity assessments for seniors, as well as the capacity of our health care system.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021-11-18•26mins
#39

Deaf or deaf? Capitalizing a community

What a difference capitalization makes: Pippa and Karina dive into the hotly debated and deeply personal terminology around being Deaf/deaf. They're joined by deaf podcaster Caroline Mincks to break down the spectrum and diversity of the deaf and hard-of-hearing experience, and why words matter when labeling members of this community. Along the way, they touch on the cochlear implant debate, sign language, person-first language, and "deaf gain."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021-11-25•23mins
#40

Is our culture getting more culty?

What sets a cult apart from a religion? Is it a harmless groupthink, or something much darker? And why are cults having such a moment right now, from pop culture to politics? Pippa and Karina drink the Kool-Aid and venture deep into wild, wild country with the help of Marianne Boucher, author of the graphic novel 'Talking to Strangers: A Memoir of My Escape from a Cult.'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021-12-02•22mins
#41

It's time to reevaluate resilience

Well into the second year of the pandemic, is "resilience" really what we need to be cultivating? Pippa and Karina are joined by Julie S. Lalonde, a women's rights advocate and author of the memoir "Resilience Is Futile." Together they tackle the trap of resilience, and why it shouldn't be doing all the heavy lifting in the face of real systemic problems. They also touch on disaster studies, brain plasticity, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021-12-09•20mins

Listen to your favourite podcasts.

Now ad-free.

Download herd and enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality podcasts without the wait.

Download on the
App Store